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How Important Is Roof Ventilation

Why is proper attic & roof ventilation important?

Attic roof ventilation is an important element of a home’s design and construction. Without effective roof ventilation, excess heat and humidity can cause serious problems with costly consequences.
Roof Ventilation is much more than a simple breeze blowing through your house. It's a process that provides a steady, high volume of air movement. Proper ventilation requires an entire system of components, expertly designed to provide constant intake and exhaust of air.
Any building, inhabited or uninhabited, must be provided with adequate roof ventilation so that it is not affected by the problems of condensation, mold and decay. Throughout the year, a non-ventilated building is more vulnerable to these types of problems.
For example, in summer the heat generated creates a furnace and this directly affects the shingles as they are made of an oil-based material. On a +30-degree Celsius day, an attic can reach up to +60 degrees Celsius. This super-heating of the shingles dries their oils and causes the loss of the small stones, or granules, embedded in the asphalt to protect the shingles from UV-rays.
In winter, the cool-room effect means both a colder home, which will require more heating and the formation of damaging condensation. This type of condensation can create mold, fungi and rotting roof timbers. Proper ventilation will allow the moisture to leave the attic and travel outside. If the attic is too warm during the winter, the precipitation frozen on your roof will melt, drip down to your gutters, and then re-freeze. This accumulation of ice can lead to water infiltration and damage your roof deck, creating health problem like mold.

Installing proper attic & roof ventilation:

Reduces heat build up during the summer and saves you money by reducing your air conditioning use.

When the overhang, or soffits, are properly venting, the roof vents draw air from the outside of the home rather than the interior living space, thereby reducing energy costs in the winter.